technocrat draws a line under bunga-bunga era

To say that last night’s press conference in Rome signalled a change in styles would be an understatement.

Silvio Berlusconi would address the media in front of a copy of a Tiepolo masterpiece bursting with naked flesh. Mario Monti opted for a graph of the spread between Italian and German bonds.

When the subject of the obstinately ample spread came up, Italy's new prime minister had drawn disconcerted laughter by pulling out a folder full of data. Then the graph appeared, enabling the former economics professor to make his points with maximum clarity.

It was a far cry from his predecessor's frequently outrageous quips, including one in which he compared a German MEP to a concentration camp Kapo (prisoner functionary).

Monti noted proudly that he was seen as Italy's most German economist. And he raised another laugh by recalling that Suddeutsche Zeitung had called him "the ideal son-in-law: dresses prosaically, says little and doesn't make a lot of noise".

It was left to Sara Tommasi, a former Berlusconi party guest, to provide a reminder this week of the political style of the recent past, by being ejected from the recording of a TV show after pulling up her skirt almost to her waist.